The Abandoned Cabin
by McLaggen
Summary: Voldermort strikes again. He's back. Harry, and a few... others, the ones who wouldn't be the first in fighting Voldermort, think about their hopes on finally defeating The Dark Lord.
1. Chapter 1

Harry's breathing slowed significantly. His eyes seemed to glance round, at each person. The cold, wooden cabin could barely fit all of them in. And it wasn't the nicest crowd he was with, either; Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Cormac, Crabbe and Goyle, Blaise and worst of all; Draco Malfoy. The howling of the wind was booming round, echoing in the little shack. The worst part, however, was hearing everyone's troubled and scrutinizing short breaths. Most of which were from fear of their situation. In this shack, there were three seats. Only three. And they were stools. Draco, thinking he was better than everyone else there, sat on one of them, looking down snootily at the rest. Harry took the other, as well as Ron. The others gathered round the three- what seemed like- leaders in a somewhat off-putting semi-circle. There were tiny cobwebs in every corner, one of the things which Harry noted not to Ron about, everyone knew how frightened Weasley was of spiders. The windows were shattered, as if bullets were forced through, letting the severely cold wind through, making even the tougher members of this association shiver. Apart from the door, the rest of the shack was empty.  
"He's..." Ron trailed off; the amount of sheer terror in his voice was just antagonizing. "Back." He forced the words out of his mouth, hugging himself for warmth. Harry gulped uncomfortably, as he looked round. The faces of 7 frightened teenagers stared back at him. He opened his mouth to talk.  
"Right. As you all know, from what Ron had just said, he is back. And by him we mean..?" He trailed off, expecting someone else to pick up on what he was saying.  
"Voldermort." Ginny spoke up, after clearing her throat from the phlegm hiding in everyone's throats.  
"This could only mean, that there's at least one horcrux left. Am I right?" Harry asked again, it wasn't really a question, more of a statement. He blinked a few times, before looking round. "And, to defeat him once and for all, we need to work together. No bickering, no fights, no friendship issues, and especially for you, Draco, no name-calling." He instructed. The certainty of authority in his voice was so great, and powerful, not even Draco Malfoy muttered anything under his breath. "So, what can we all do?"  
"Count to a hundred in Spanish?" Ron suggested.  
"Memorize the pneumatic dystenitry?" Hermione also suggested, raising her eyebrows.  
"Beat Snape at a game of Wizard chess..." Draco's turn this time.  
"Hunt nogtails in Norfolk?" Came an over-confident Cormac.  
Ginny shook her head. She knew this wasn't what Harry meant. "No, no, no!" He said, standing up. "What Harry means, is how can we defeat Voldermort? It's not like we have Dumbledore to help us this time. We only have 8 inexperienced teenage wizards, and a shack. Come on. We need to think."  
"I remembered all the spells from most of the books in the restricted section in the library. I would have remembered them all, but I had some business to attend to..." Hermione trailed off, as she looked from Ron, to Ginny then Harry.  
"Excellent!" Boomed Harry. "Anyone else?"

"I can... urm..." Crabbe said, his mind instantly going blank. "Goyle and I could... urm... fight. Bein' tough 'n' all..." He suggested after a much prolonged think. Who could blame him? He was Crabbe for crying out loud.  
"Uncle Tiberius kitted me out with new wizarding kit. I have spare wands, brooms, everything." Cormac's voice was too full of pride and honour for anyone to mistake him.  
"Excellent. Now we're getting somewhere." Said Ginny, exchanging a sympathetic smile toward Harry.  
"I'm a death eater. Enough?" Piped up Draco. All eyes turned to him. "What?" He asked, slightly shaken by the odd looks.  
"Nothing..." Harry shook his head, as he looked back at them. "This is great guys. You see. We have some expert fighters- Crabbe and Goyle, we have some brilliant girl who's remembered all the spells from the restricted section, and we have new kit. Sorry for jumping to conclusions, but I think that's a heck of a result. But, you see. To have a chance with Voldermort, we'll have to help each other. You know what that means?" Everyone seemed to nod their heads. "Good. Hermione. What was the easiest spell to learn?" He asked, as 8 pairs of eyes turned to her simultaneously. "Hang on. You teach this lot, whilst I go and find us something to warm us up." Said Harry as he stood up. As did Ginny, almost in unison. She blushed a violent red colour, as he looked at her.  
"Mind if I come too?" She asked, her usual cheeky smile peeking through the misery they were in. Harry simply nodded as he opened the, what seemed to be, stiffly closed, door with great effort. He dug his hands into his pockets, studying the surrounding. The sun was hidden perspicuously behind the dark shade of grey which they called clouds. The trees were bare, no leaves or anything were left intact. It was the middle of winter; what did they expect? It just felt so good to get out of the cabin, especially with Ginny. He looked round, checking if she was still keeping up with his mad pace. She smiled back at him, his eyes caught a mist of black zoom past, somewhere deep in the forest. He gulped uncomfortably for the second time in that day, as he looked round. He grabbed his wand from up his sleeve, gripping it firmly. He was ready for it. He was the chosen one. Ginny didn't seem alarmed. It seemed that she hadn't a clue what was happening. Harry crouched down, protectively, as his eyes made their viciously quick move. There the movement was again. The same dark silhouette was seen, only closer. His lips became oddly dry, as his mind tried to take in all of this. What was after them? A death eater? Perhaps.


	2. Chapter 2

"Harry..." Ginny trailed off, looking up at him.  
"Not now, Ginny." He replied, still poised for battle.  
"What is it?"  
"I... I don't know. Death eater. Perhaps." He cleared his throat, as he saw another flash in the other direction. "Who's there?" He called out, arching his brow. It couldn't be Voldemort. His scar didn't burn, but saying that. It could be his minions. This time, the flashes came closer, as if to mock them. A snide, female laugh was heard, giggling at the obscenity of this situation. It was just intimidating, feeling the breath of a death eater so close. That was the problem. If only Harry would have brought Draco out, they'd be fine. Did the death eaters know that Draco was in the cabin? Probably not.  
"What should we do?" Ginny whispered, cowering closer to Harry. She took his spare hand, as an instinct, a self-conscious instinct. Harry gulped. Did she remember what he'd said about 'Voldemort using the people closest to Harry as an advantage', how he'd get to Harry through her? That was one thing they'd need to talk about, when this was over. He still adored Ginny, he wouldn't be able to live without her, it was just... he didn't want her to die because of him. If that made any sense at all. This time, the laughing was louder, echoed by a male voice. It was all getting too much- why couldn't Voldemort leave him alone? He didn't WANT to be his biggest enemy. And it wasn't Harry's fault, that he made him his 'greatest enemy'. He didn't ask for it! He let go of her hand. Ginny took it as a different sign. She bit her lip. So, it was true. Harry didn't love her any more. She looked down, as she wielded her wand firmly. She had so many hopes about Harry liking her with the intensity which she had. As did Harry. But, she didn't know that; she thought he liked... someone like Romilda Vane. Tears formed in Ginny's eyes as she pictured Harry with someone else, doing what she did with Dean in the corridors, or worse- in the bedroom. Harry finally glanced over at the moving blur. Quickly, he cast a spell.  
"STUPEFY!" He shouted, flicking his wand as quickly as he could toward the dark light. He was so relieved when he saw the body of a man lying on the floor, out cold. This man had short, cropped black hair, flicked at the fringe, and was wearing dark clothes; a turtle-neck, a blazer, skinny jeans and converse- all of which were black. As well as the dark aura surrounding him. Harry furrowed his brow. This man looked no older than them? He looked about 17. He couldn't have been 16, seeing as he was using magic, as Harry had turned 17 last month. Ginny's eyes widened- she seemed to like what she was seeing. She licked her lips, as Harry glanced round, out of the corner of his eye, just to see that. He bit his lip. No way would he lose out to a Death Eater. He ground his teeth slightly, before looking back up at her. "Think we should take him back to the shack?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Too quickly, Ginny was already grabbing this handsomely strange man by the arms, beckoning Harry to do the same for his legs. Slowly, after much struggle, they made their way back, greeted by a queasy looking Goyle. "What's wrong?" Harry asked, as he threw the body inside, with a massive bang. "Whoops." He said, sarcastically. Ginny simply rolled her eyes.  
"You're so arrogant sometimes." She said, as she quickly hurried over to the man. She dragged him in to the warm (It wasn't exactly warm in the shack, but warmer than outside) and created a make-shift pillow, from the man's blazer. Running the risk, however, of him getting cold.  
"Draco told me to keep guard." Goyle replied to Harry's earlier question.  
"Perhaps, but why do you look... to be honest, slightly ill?"  
"The Mantel." Goyle said, shaking slightly to his words.  
"The what?" Harry asked. What was the Mantel? Goyle timidly pulled something from his pocket, making sure that nobody saw him do it. Before Harry could see this 'Mantel', Goyle had already shoved it into Harry's pocket.  
"Only look at it, when it's totally necessary." Goyle warned. "If you don't..." He trailed off. "Don't. Just don't." And with that, Goyle looked back up, still as vomit-ridden, sick as ever. Harry returned to the cabin to a noisy Draco.  
"Right! Everyone! To be in with a chance of Voldemort, you need to listen up!" The Malfoy's voice boomed across the small area.  
"No, you listen up, Malfoy." Said Harry, taking a stand. "You're a Death Eater. You're WITH Voldemort. You tried to kill Dumbledore!" That resentful sentence which Harry spat through his teeth. His friend's death- his companion's death, his head master's death. He sighed.  
"What are you going to do, Potter?" Malfoy spat the word 'Potter'.  
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Harry replied, his eyes turned from each of the people. Hermione and Ron- they were just staring into each others' eyes, Draco who was fuming, Crabbe who was talking to Goyle. And... Ginny? She was hung over this mysterious man's body. Harry's brow automatically furrowed, as the place fell silent.

"My head..." A voice grumbled, below everyone. Harry, who was intently staring at Draco, at this point, arched an eyebrow. His head quickly snapped down to the man. He looked somewhat resembling Draco. Harry looked up, back to Draco. He gave him a 'Do you know this kid' look, which Malfoy shook his head to. Ginny's long ginger hair hung over his face, and she was smiling on top of him. "... Who are you?" He asked. This man had a strong, broad British accent. His hand was caught by Ginny, as he tried to rub the side of his head. She did it for him.  
"Ginny Weasley." She replied, as Harry's teeth ground themselves together again. Was she not thinking again? He was a Death Eater. He was sure of it- and she just went and... Told him her real name?  
"We could ask the same of you." Harry broke into this lovers' ceremony. Draco just simply ran over to the man, and pulled his long-sleeved turtle-necked jumper above the top of his shoulder.  
"Snap." He muttered, revealing the dark mark on his skin as well. This mystery man slowly got to his feet, with the help of the 6th year, Ginny.  
"I... Well. I am Jacobi Grenville." Said the man, as he pulled his blazer from the floor. He shrugged it on, gracefully. "And you are?"  
"Harry Potter."  
"Draco Malfoy."  
"Hermione Granger."  
"Ron Weasley."  
"Vincent Crabbe."  
"Gregory Goyle."  
"Blaise Zabini."  
"Cormac McLaggen."  
Jacobi smiled as he registered all of the names, every one of them saying their names with such pride.  
"Well, it's nice to meet you all, but I'd best be going." Said the dark haired Death Eater. Harry rushed to the door, locking it shut.  
"No you're not." He snarled, as Ginny came up behind Jacobi.  
"Please, don't go." She whispered, sending shivers down his back. It would send shivers down anyone's back, if Ginny Weasley did that to them. Smiling, Jacobi turned back to her, with a small smirk.  
"I can't do that to such a lovely..." He trailed off, eyeing her up and down. Harry's anger was beginning to boil, and rage. Jacobi ran his hand through a lock of her hair, causing her to swoon. Wait. Hang on. About an hour ago, Ginny loved Harry. Jeez. What a slut!  
"Answer my questions, Grenville." Harry snarled.  
"What questions might they be?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Ginny backed away toward Hermione and Ron, blushing a deep, red colour.  
"Why were you here?"  
"Dark Magic. Obviously." He shrugged.  
"Where are the others?"  
"Others? There are other Death Eaters?" Jacobi seemed genuinely surprised. "I never knew there were others."  
"I'm one, you dipshit." Muttered Malfoy.  
"That's why not many people trust you." Murmured Cormac, from the background. That was odd- Cormac McLaggen taking a background seat?  
"Oh... It's good to see a fellow Death Eater." Jacobi shook Draco's hand vigorously.


End file.
